~Chapter 46~

Sam sighed heavily as she wrapped the blanket tighter around Faye. The baby still hadn't opened her eyes yet, and while her hair looked like a milky color right now, it would grow into Phantom's solid white hair. Technus had refused to help fix the Specter Speeder on account of a very ridiculously overprotective Danny. Despite still being unconscious, even Technus knew better than to come near, just in case that retarded man woke up while he was busy. Danny had this tendency around ghosts and...pretty much anyone else...to shoot first and hope they were dead. It wasn't the best way to go about, but he was obsessed with keeping everyone safe. He would do anything and everything and he had proven it too many times to count.

She was just thankful that Ember tried. The ghost had gone to get food, water, a few pillows, some blankets, and several diapers. Even now she remained here in case something required her attention. Since Danny was out of the question, she stayed to help. And if Danny woke up to attack Ember the moment he saw her, "Hey, Danny, look over there!" and he would look towards where she was pointing, "See the blood?" and he would see it. Hopefully he would pass out again, which would leave Ember in the clear.

"I'm surprised she's not crying right now," the pop star said. "From what I understand they cry all the time."

Sam shrugged. "Well...maybe she's a little different that way. Besides, I for one am very happy to have some peace. After taking care of twins...well... Let's just say your ears need a few adjustments."

The ghost chuckled and looked over at Danny, inwardly questioning whether he would ever wake up after being a midwife. He was living proof that males weren't fit to deliver babies.

"So how long were you in labor? The only part I saw was him chant, 'blood, blood, blood' and keel over. He was as white as snow by the time I got here."

"Yeah..." she sighed. "Every girl needs a big, strong man. I actually went into labor a minute or two after the Speeder broke down. I don't know exactly how long it was but it was less than thirteen hours. Wish the same could be said for the twins."

"Wow, sounds like fun."

"The epidural was a lifesaver. Didn't realize what a blessing it was until this time, with Faye. Apparently she doesn't want to time her appearances very well."

"I can safely say that I'm never having children. I don't think I could handle nine months of pregnancy, pregnancy symptoms, the pain of childbirth, and then all the responsibility that comes with a kid."

"It's rewarding though. Makes it all worth it."

She snorted. "Rewarding how? Unless they give you a medal for raising a kid, I don't see how it's rewarding."

"I wondered the same thing before I had the twins. I guess you have to be a mom to really understand it."

Ember quietly picked up her guitar and strummed a few low notes. At first Sam was sure Faye would wake up and start screeching her irritation, but she didn't. She simply moved around a little bit, seeming to try to get comfortable to Ember's little lullaby.

"I used to play this all the time. I figured that I would shake it up a bit and instead of working so hard on rock and pop music, I would focus on a softer, more tranquil song for once. Never thought it would come in handy this way though," Ember explained. "Of course, I never could come up with lyrics for it."

Sam waved a dismissive hand and shook her head. "Whatever works. Faye's calm, she's asleep and quiet, and to be honest, I'm ready to hit a snooze button myself."

It was at that precision timing, the polar opposite of Faye's little debut, that Danny began to stir. Ember seemed to take it as a cue to flee while she still had the chance, as most ghosts did...assuming they had a chance.

And thankfully Ember had gotten away before Danny even saw her. He woke with a long groan and sluggish movements. Of all people, he really shouldn't be one complaining. He wasn't the one who unexpectedly went into labor, he wasn't the one who gave birth, and he wasn't the one who was flat-out exhausted. Although...he did deserve some credit. A hemophobic had delivered a baby by himself and managed to pull through, holding off for as long as possible until the last minute, when Faye was safely in her arms. Those nurses shouldn't have asked him if he wanted to cut the umbilical cords and she herself played into that stupidity by giving him permission to do it. Add to that the fact that he'd already gotten nervous and queasy, and even more so, he'd been too stubborn to swallow his pride and say no, and the perfect storm was created. Now blood terrified him and he couldn't handle it at all.

But that showed that he was paying much more attention to Faye than anyone would've thought. With the twins, all he did was cut the umbilical cords, hand the scissors back to the nurse, and fail at making it back to a chair. With Faye, he did everything the doctors and nurses had done despite having that kind of extreme reaction to blood. Even if it meant dumping her in her arms, he made sure to get her somewhere safe. It was a lot for him to do something like that even though it didn't seem like much.

He got up and dusted himself off. His eyes still looked glazed over, like he wasn't very focused on his surroundings, but that changed instantly when his ghost sense went off. He immediately transformed and shot above the island, only to find emptiness. Aside from the things stashed in the Specter Speeder, which apparently he hadn't noticed yet, the only new sight was a tiny bundle all snuggled up against Sam. She was no longer wrapped in Danny's bloody shirt. Ember had brought blankets for a reason and now Faye had a clean one.

The confused look on Danny's face told Sam everything.

"I think it's Faye," she said.

The silence lingering over the island allowed sound to carry over clearly. Danny heard her and thankfully, she didn't have to speak up. As exhausted as she was, not moving a muscle sounded amazing right now, even if it was merely talking.

He softly landed in front of them and reverted back to Fenton. His ghost sense didn't go off again, but there was no other ghost aside from himself...and Faye.

It finally seemed to strike him that Sam wasn't pregnant anymore. She'd had the baby. Faye was out in the big world now, but in no way was she alone. Maybe it would annoy her later but daddy dearest wouldn't let her be alone. He had his reasons, but...

It would be interesting to see how he handled the teen years with any of the kids. He would probably be freaking out left and right when Lilith and Faye started taking an interest in boys. Maybe Junior would be cut some slack but the girls...just...no. Unless Faye turned out to have his powers but neither of them would really want to go into that. A superpowered baby would be, to say the very least, difficult.

He knelt down on both knees and stared at Faye, a slow smile spreading across his face.

"She's so perfect," he breathed.

It was the same feeling he had when he saw the twins for the first time outside their mother's womb. But just as with the twins, he was too busy panicking to notice it before. This time, with Faye, it was the same thing. The only difference was that the memory of all that blood was added to Sam's distress. And with the twins it was Sam's distress that got him so nervous. Not only that, but he didn't have to deliver them. She also had the proper treatment before, during, and after birth. She was given hydration throughout the whole thing, when she couldn't drink water. This time was so much more dangerous for though. She had no hydration and had spent a ton of energy that she was currently too weak to get back. Basically, she couldn't really recover like she should be able to.

It worried him but there wasn't anything happening right now, not yet at least. For now he needed to focus not on Faye, but keeping Sam strong enough to take care of her. He could help by doing things such as changing diapers and rocking her, but Sam was the only one capable of feeding her. Plus, as he found out soon enough with the twins, sometimes Mommy was preferred over Daddy.

...A lot of times Mommy was preferred over Daddy.

Oh well. Faye would have to put up with that until everyone got home safely.

He wanted to tear his eyes away but he couldn't. And there was nothing to distract him. His ghost sense didn't go off, he couldn't detect any threats, and... M-Maybe a little focus on Faye wouldn't be too bad. Nothing was happening right now so he could afford it.

He reached out to hold her and Sam seemed almost relieved to have Faye out of her arms. Though it did make sense that she would be. Childbirth was draining and she probably just wanted to sleep. He couldn't be sure about it but if Sam was that willing to simply hand a newborn-her newborn-over, even if he was the father, then Faye had probably been fed and changed. If that weren't the case then Sam would've held on until she was taken care of.

"Welcome to the big world, Faye," he said as Sam's arms fell limply beside her and her head slowly dropped down. Her breathing quickly evened out, which proved to him that she was only asleep and not in any danger. It also showed him that she really was weak and needed more rest than he first thought.

The newborn made a small murmur and punched a hand out of the blanket, slapping Danny in the chin. It was funny how her eyes weren't even open yet she had such a good aim.

"Something tells me you'll be a handful," he quietly laughed, making sure Sam had enough silence to sleep in. "Let's just hope you don't have my powers. They can be a little dangerous."

She grunted and kicked both her feet in the blanket.

"Don't worry. When you're in Daddy's arms, nothing will happen to you. I promise."

Wham. Daddy got slapped again. Nothing would happen to her but apparently the same couldn't be said for him. He was just thankful it was only a baby punch. It was something they were all still trying to teach them to stop doing, but whenever one of the twins punched him, it actually hurt. That, and he was always tripping over them. It wasn't their fault-they only wanted to see him-but he was tall and could easily hurt them if he fell on top of them. The solution? Hands down. Literally. It kept his body from hitting the ground and if they happened to be underneath him, they would only get knocked down. They wouldn't get hurt no matter how much he thought they would. Nah, they would run right into a door or bump their heads, but shrug it off like it was nothing and go back to doing whatever.

He put her hand down on her chest. She made an angry face at him, made humorous thanks to her closed eyes.

"Did Mommy get this treatment too or is it just me?"

She made a baby sound that he was pretty sure translated to, "Just you."

"You better use this kind of violence against boys when you get older," he 'replied'. "And if they still don't back off, you just tell Daddy, he'll make sure they back off all the way to Mexico."

He didn't get a chance to get another word in before the phone rang. Loudly.

It was practically a race to snatch up the phone while holding Faye. Even when he hit the answer button, he swore Sam woke up. She really hadn't and probably wouldn't for some time to come, but she needed to rest and he needed to make sure she could.

"What's the matter with you?!" he hissed into the phone. "Sam's sleeping!"

It was his mother who answered and she wasn't happy with him speaking to her that way.

"Daniel James Fenton, don't you dare talk to me that way again...!" she warned him. Taking a breath, she continued...but she almost seemed to stall on the real reason she called. "If Sam's asleep, she's already given birth; how is Faye? Is she safe? Were there any problems? You hung up on me and never called me back."

He cleared his throat and flushed in embarrassment. "In order, fine, yes, no, and I was um...a-a little busy taking care of everyone."

"You passed out."

He scoffed. "I didn't pass out!"

"Don't lie to your mother. You can't handle blood, you're a man, and you delivered a baby."

"I managed!" he argued. "I stayed conscious long enough to get Faye to Sam, that has to count for something!"

"As violent and overprotective as you are, your weakness is a little blood..." she sighed.

"First of all, I am not overprotective, I am just the right amount of protective; second of all, it was not a little blood, it was a lot of blood."

"You're overprotective, honey. It's a good thing but you take it to the extreme."

"I'm not-!"

"So how is Faye now? What does she looks like? Oh! What color are her eyes? It would be adorable if she had your pretty eyes!"

He frowned at that. "Did you just call my eyes pretty?"

"That cute baby blue color on a baby, oh that would be just precious...!"

"Cute? Baby blue? What are you, in cahoots with Sam or something?"

"Or if she has white hair with purple eyes, that would-"

"She does have white hair, actually, but she hasn't opened her eyes yet. Not as far as I know anyway. I'm hoping she doesn't have green eyes, that would make her look just like me, but female. It might mean she has my powers, especially if they glow."

"I wouldn't try to worry too much about that. Even if she does have powers, I doubt she would have all of them. Keep in mind that she has more human blood in her than ghost ectoplasm. She stands less chance of having anything."

First 'over'protective, then being picked on about passing out over a ton of blood, then insulting his masculinity, and then finally doing what Sam always did...insult his eyes.

"So did you call to talk about Faye? If you did then we'll have to cut it short. My phone won't hold its battery forever and I might need it if there's an emergency on either side."

His mom took a very long, steady breath and said, "It's not the reason I called. Don't tell Sam this, because the last thing she needs is more stress than there already is, but her parents called us..."

He unknowingly tightened his grip on Faye. "What did they want?"

"I think you know."

A/N

FIRST OFF, this chapter was delayed, yes, but some of it wasn't my fault. I went on a family vacation, which took up a lot of time. And recently I've been quite busy. I will probably be busy for the next several days. BUT I still had some time to work on this chapter and I didn't... :( I'm sorry, guys...

I'm kind of glad I got down this cliffhanger. I've been DYING to get to it for a long time now! I'd love to hear your ideas of what Sam's parents want. And isn't it convenient that they called soon after Faye was born? And isn't it a little strange that they called Danny's parents but not Danny? What's up with that? :3 I'd seriously like to hear what you guys think.

I don't have much else to say. No review quota, you've done enough waiting as it is.

Review replies:

The Talent- :D REALLY?! Thank you! I feel like I've been awarded a medal or something! ^o^

Guest- It really does feel that way. It also feels like I'm steadily losing readers.

Radiant Celestial Aura- Daddy go to dreamland. Oh trust me, something big IS going to happen!

Fleightfire- True, it would be pretty cool. I'll think about it. And yes, Danny would pass out at it...but keep in mind that this time, he DELIVERED the baby. XD

Samtastic V2.0- :) Glad you think so! Oh that is a HUGE relief to me! I tried to twist her up a bit too, because Danny's kind of made his intentions clear when it comes down to the kids. Start ghosts would stand clear and like many ghosts, Ember wanted to get on SOMEONE'S good side, even if it's not directly Danny's. Even Johnny and Kitty aren't necessarily on his 'good side', he just tolerates them so they can help out with the twins.

purpledragon6- She's the first kid born to Danny. He adopted the twins and thinks of them as his own, but they aren't his by blood which makes Faye their first baby 'together'. I said that more because they kind of...you know, 'worked together' to make her.

Favorite Daughter Of Hades- LOL That made me laugh for some reason.

beautifullove521- What does smh mean?

HeroAce- See the thing about any ghost is that (and I've made this a tad difficult for myself) Danny does NOT take kindly to having them near the kids. In order for Ember to have a fleeting glance, she needs the rest of his family's protection. It would do no one any good to try to stand up to him or talk some sense into him. It would only make their punishment ten times worse if they provoke him even a little. Butting heads with him? All it takes is one tiny word and that's it, there IS no more 'reasoning'. Unless it's someone he knows, he'll attack without warning...but he really does just want his family to be safe. It seems unreal the way he acts around ghosts, but then he gets back home and you see this soft, tender side of him. He just wants to make sure they're happy and safe, that's all. But now even Johnny and Kitty may be in danger now that Faye's been born. They're still needed but they can easily outlive their usefulness if Danny decides to do something about them being there. All that said, it would be much wiser for Ember if she DIDN'T stand up to Danny in any form or fashion. And she knows it. That's why she didn't think twice about sticking around despite having helped so much.

TripleAAA1183- ;) Believe me, she'll turn out to have a rather interesting personality. Now that she's been born, things will change dramatically. :( Especially since Danny went from second one to day two, and so on and so forth. Poor guy.